The motorcycling-riding Johnny Knoxville of his time, minus any homoerotic subtext, Evel Knievel died today at the wonderful age of 69. He passed away after years of suffering from "diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs." Which? Good for him -- in that he wasn't taken down by his daredevil-laced stuntsmanship. He even survived a run-in with the Hell's Angels. (Aside: why do the Hell's Angels act like such dick slices?) Wikipedia tells us that:

On March 3, 1972 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, Knievel got into a scuffle with a couple of Hells Angels in the audience. After making a successful jump, he tried to come to a quick stop because of a short landing area. Knievel ended up getting thrown off and run over by his motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson. Knievel ended up with a broken back and a concussion.

What's more, he signed over the rights to his life story for Jef Bek's rock opera, "Evel Knievel: the Rock Opera," which garnered decent reviews when it opened two months ago in Los Angeles. And really, once your life is interpreted via rock opera format, you're golden. Jesus H. Christ and Eva Peron? That's pretty good company.